Reasons We Love Our New House: #6

Wonderful Neighbors Who Bring Us Treats!

This is SUCH a friendly street! Like Pavlov's dog, my kids are now conditioned. Each time the doorbell rings--"Quick! Mia, get the door! It's probably someone bringing us cookies again!" And more often than not, they've been right.

Not only are the neighbors nice, they are also fun. A sense of humor is very important in coping with our family, mostly because I have four insane children, and also because I have insane friends. Like Michelle. One of the first cookie-bringers was my delightful neighbor-across-the-street Heidi. Michelle came running to the door, gushing, "Oh, are you the new neighbor? I'm Wendy's life-partner, and these are our children. We used a surrogate, in case you were wondering. Is this neighborhood very open to alternative lifestyles?" Heidi didn't even bat an eyelash. This bodes well for her endurance as my neighbor.

The house itself is delightful, but I gotta say, having great neighbors is a dealbreaker. I may never move...

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program

of reasons that we heart our new house, to bring you an Adorable Moment, compliments of Eric.

At bedtime last night I got in some good snuggle time, and threw in a '3 Things I Love About Eric' for good measure. He immediately responded with 5 things he loves about Mommy.

“I love you because you are so happy and smiling and you laugh, and I love you because you are so reverent at prayer time, and I love you because you get me stuff and I like you because I am your boy and, and, and—how many is this? Oh yeah, um, four. And I love you that you made me this pillowcase even though it’s ripped on this one edge but it’s still working and you don’t have to throw it away because it’s just a little hole.”

Did you get that, Mom? Apparently I have finally learned to be reverent at prayer time--and it actually garnered me some mommy brownie points in Ericland.

Reasons We Love Our New House: #7

Comfy slumber party space!

The kids love family slumber parties. Doesn't this family room just look made for family movie nights and late-night snugglefests?

Reasons We Love Our New House: #8

A garage, a garage, a garage! Already nicely filling up with junk, as you can see. But hey--that's an option when you have A GARAGE!!!

Another lifetime ago, I forever gave up all hope of having a garage when I married a car guy. The garage was packed floor to rafters with Very Important Stuff that did not include actual cars, and I was fine with that. Who needs a garage when you've got love?

Post-divorce, the day finally came when the MFKAMH finally had all that stuff out of the garage and I inherited a very big, very empty garage. The first time I saw my empty garage I sat down on the cement steps and cried.

But only for a minute or two. Then I smiled, wiped my eyes, and even sort of laughed a little bit. And I grabbed my car keys and put the car in the garage.

Do you have any idea how much easier it is to load four wiggly little bodies in and out of the car early in the morning during a snowstorm when you HAVE A GARAGE??? Do you know how nice it is to have a clear work area for refinishing furniture or hiding large Christmas presents or
stacking empty boxes? Yep, it's awesome.

I sold that house last year & wasn't sure what the next step was, so we rented a place down the street. The only real drawback was that instead of a garage it had a carport. A very skinny carport that didn't leave room on either side to exit the car without stepping in the mud or slipping on the ice.

We survived.

And now... We have a garage. It's a beautiful thing :).

Reasons We Love Our New House: #9

We are so, SO close to a bazillion-jillion parks and walking/jogging trails!

The one right around the corner from our house has a large play area right smack in the middle, so Mommy can run while the kids play.

When the kids are gone, there's an outdoor track at the jr. high two blocks away.

When it's cold outside the indoor track is 8 blocks away, and right next door to the gym are TWO outdoor tracks, nicely measured out so I can mark my huffing, puffing progress.

Rumor has it there are two other little city parks tucked within a four-block radius of our new house, but we haven't explored that far yet.

I took this proximity as a sign & registered for my first 5k in, oh, probably 20 years. Dreading it, hating every minute of dragging my out-of-shape body around these abundant tracks...but also glad through the gritted teeth.

Baldy Brainy Boy & His Priorities

A couple weeks ago I was bored so I asked Eric if I could cut his hair. "Okay," he said. "Can I shave it all off," asked Mother of the Year. "No way! Then I would be bald!" Smart boy. "Can I shave it all off if I give you a candy binky?" Eric didn't even have to think about it. "Sure!"

So I shaved Eric's hair off, a process that our whole family enjoyed immensely. (I did feel a TEENY bit guilty post-haircut, when I couldn't decide if he looked more like a miniature Holocaust survivor or a junior cancer patient).

Eric's love of sweets is legendary, and a couple of days later I decided to test it.

"Eric, if I give you a sucker can I cut your arm off?"

"No way! Then I would have no arm!"

Smart boy.

A few minutes later he ran back and climbed up on my lap.

"Well, how big is the sucker?"

That's my boy.

The Future Iron Chef, or Iron Stomach, At Least

This is my son. This is my son eating. He is eating his very own concoction. He is enjoying it very much.

You cannot see my daughters. They are on the other side of the table, gagging.

You cannot see me. I am holding the camera, and I am laughing uncontrollably.

This is Eric's award-winning recipe:

Rice cake
Cream cheese
Apple slices
Breaded tilapia fillet
Pickles
Dipped in Apple Juice

Arrange artfully. Serve. Enjoy.

Bon appetit!

Eh, What?

Mercie: "Eric, would you please get me some flowers because I really like them and I asked Mommy and she keeps forgetting? And if I forget that I want flowers will you please remind me? And if you forget, don't worry about it because I will just remind myself to not forget that I want flowers."